MAN-richment!

It feels like I haven't done a blog post in forever, but this is a momentous occasion that needs to be chronicled. Back when we were in our BYU student ward I lobbied for the establishment of a ward Scoutmaster position to train all of us new husbands and fathers in the ways of grown-up man skills like budgeting, car repair, and BBQ. The position was established but not a whole lot happened with it during my time there. So when I got put in the EQP of our ward here in Boise, one of the first things I wanted to do was start a similar program, only this time we would call it "Manrichment." (That term is not mine, but I loved it - brilliant!)

We just had our first official Manrichment activity last week and I was the presenter. The topic: Home Defense. We made a list of topics and had our Elders vote on them one Sunday and Home Defense was one of the front runners. We decided to go with it because I wanted to present and make sure that this Manrichment tradition became what my previous Scoutmaster idea never did.

We had a great turnout: Our EQP's house was full of elders ready to learn the ins and outs of keeping your family safe in the Lord's way (see Alma 43:45-47 and Article of Faith 12). We also had great food: Lil' Smokeys in BBQ sauce, nachos and dip, and deer/elk jerky. Sadly, I was so caught-up in the presentation that I didn't get any of the goodies save a few pieces of jerky my Pres. squirreled away for me.

The presentation features a number of helpful scriptural insights for the righteous home defender.

Some of the visual-aides feature yours truly doing some manly modeling.

Over the preceding two months I put together a rather comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on Home Defense. It covered the following: Legal aspects of home defense; Four fundamental safety rules; Ammunition and firearms terminology; Issues to consider when selecting a weapon; Pros and cons of the various systems; Crime prevention; Initial response to an invasion; Anticipating your stress response; Basic tactics; Going on the offensive; Practice: No fire and live-fire; and Mental preparation. Like I said, comprehensive!

Anyway, it was a great time. Part of the reason I made the presentation so thorough was to serve as a resource for myself and others in the future. In that spirit, if there are any of you that would like to check it out, feel send me a request in an e-mail or through the comments section and I will send it your way!

I found this picture online and had to include it - hilarious!